About Us

A Better Class of Oil for over 90 years

Les Mecoles: 1926 - 1979

From small beginnings in 1926, Les Mecoles, 16 years old, founded Penrite Oil Company from his parents’ home in
St.Kilda, Melbourne, Australia. The first batches of oil were made on his mother’s kitchen stove and delivered
to service stations, milling factories and the local shipping port using his father’s wheelbarrow.

Oils were manufactured from the highest quality lubricants from Pennsylvania (PEN) base stocks, regarded at the
time as the best in the world. Only the right oils (RITE) would ever be sold to local customers, hence PENRITE,
with its unique name gained trust and respect amongst many. As the business began to grow, a new blending
facility was built in Richmond.

After several years, Penrite again moved to Abbotsford. Penrite was experiencing further growth as Melbourne
and regional Victoria grew in population and the road and railway network expanded across Australia. New
automotive products were introduced including batteries and oil filters.

In 1965, Penrite again was forced to move to nearby East Brunswick as the Abbotsford site was purchased by the
Victorian Government to make way for the newly commissioned Eastern Freeway. The business continued to grow, but
in 1979, Les Mecoles, suffering from poor health, sold the company to John and Margaret Dymond.

John served a 7 year apprenticeship at Vauxhall Motors, Luton, (starting work), at the age of 16 years. He
obtained a Mechanical Engineering Degree at night school. Whilst at Vauxhall he became a draughtsman,
specialising in the design of gearboxes. Moving to Melbourne in March 1958, he took up a position with BP
Australia, in the Technical Department.

During this time he assisted in the development of lubricants for the harsh climates of Malaysia, Papua New
Guinea and Northern Australia. In 1968, a vacancy occurred at Lubrizol Australia, an American international
additive producer. John took this opportunity to become involved in the additive industry which was becoming an
important part of lubricant production.

John’s 20 years experience in, not only the oil industry, but also the additive market gave him the background
and knowledge he needed to take up the challenge of his own company, PENRITE OIL.

Penrite continued to grow and expand, opening up new distribution channels and market segments. A second
blending facility was opened in Brisbane, soon followed by new warehousing in Perth, Adelaide, Hobart, Sydney
and Darwin. Exports commenced in New Zealand, Southeast Asia, America, UK and Europe. New smaller pack sizes for
the DIY (Do-It-Yourself) market were introduced complementing the traditional DIFM (Do-It-For-Me) market of the
44 gallon drum.

In 1997, the existing blending facility in Melbourne could no longer keep up with the demand and was relocated
to Wantirna South in Melbourne’s east and soon after, the Brisbane site was also relocated to a larger premises
in Crestmead. Further product ranges were introduced including Everyday and Enviro+, driven by the goal to
develop the right product for every application.

Today, Penrite continues to be 100% Australian owned and managed by Toby and Nigel Dymond from Melbourne,
continuing on the core values and philosophy of the business.